Saturn's north pole hexagon vortex ring

[Mordred]

New photo released today from NASA showing remarkable detail of a hexagon vortex ring at Saturn's North pole.
http://www.space.com/24534-saturn-hexagon-vortex-nasa-cassini-photo.html

Anyone see any papers explaining how the ring gets its shape?

 

[Bandersnatch]

Have you seen this article?
http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2010/2471.html

It's referencing this paper:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0019103509004382

 

[Mordred]

nice, I hadn't seen the articles you posted before. Thanks a ton, the videos that accompany it are stunning.

 

[davenn]

nice, I hadn't seen the articles you posted before. Thanks a ton, the videos that accompany it are stunning.

agreed very cool

Dave

PS Mordred --- I'm sure that Rhawn Joseph from your other thread will find a way to blame it on an alien life form over looked by NASA

 

[Mordred]

call it the Rhawn Joseph syndrome

 

[LURCH]

See how the corners are rounded? This, finally, explains why the the main hex nut was not tightened down enough to keep the out layers of the planet attached to the surface, resulting in rings of loose material flung out around the planet. Fairly sloppy on the alien engineer's part: "ring around the planet" and all that...